


Five Times Emily was a Mess and One Time Aubrey was the Mess

by Thisusernameistakenagain



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Aubrey is really patient with her, Emily is really bad at speaking, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23388994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisusernameistakenagain/pseuds/Thisusernameistakenagain
Summary: "I wish Chloe had given us a warning so I could have prepared for how much prettier you are in person"
Relationships: Emily Junk/Aubrey Posen
Comments: 16
Kudos: 63





	1. The Retreat

**Author's Note:**

> Junksen is making me have an aneurysm right now. Enjoy.

“Oh wow, hi, you must be Emily,” Aubrey greeted.

The group had just gotten off the bus at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves. Chloe had told them a few days prior that they’d be going on a retreat but failed to mention it was owned by none other than Aubrey Posen. Emily was starstruck.

“Yeah, that’s me! I can’t believe I’m standing in the presence of _the_ Aubrey Posen. I’ve heard such great things about you from the other Bellas and I wish Chloe had given us a warning so I could have prepared for how much prettier you are in person.”

Emily froze when she realized what she had just said. She prayed that none of the other Bellas heard it as they chattered amongst each other. It was well known between them that she had a bad habit of talking when she was nervous, excited, or drunk. Unfortunately, she was the most nervous in the presence of pretty girls or cute boys.

“Aww, thanks, Em,” Aubrey said with a smile before shouting at the Bellas to fall in line.

Emily thought she could see a slight blush on the blonde’s cheeks but passed it off as redness from the heat of the sun. There was no way someone as composed as Aubrey would find her appealing. Besides, they were in the middle of the first heatwave of the year.

After Aubrey was done lecturing the group about how the Bellas have become a national disgrace, she pulled Beca and Chloe aside to give them a run down of what to expect over the next two days. Emily couldn’t help but be even more attracted to the fact that she was able to go from being so strict to so kind in a matter of seconds.

“She’s pretty hot, isn’t she?”

Emily nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to see Stacie standing right behind her with a huge smirk on her face.

“I-”

Stacie held up her hand to stop the freshman from overexplaining.

“You’re not very subtle, Legacy,” she started. “I should really give you more credit. I’ve never seen Posen blush like that.”

There weren’t enough words in the world to compensate for just how much Emily wanted to say. She could feel the heat creeping into her cheeks and spreading to the tips of her ears.

“Do you really think she likes me? I mean, we just met but maybe she thinks I’m cute? I told her she was cute. Well, pretty, actually. Prettier in person to be exact. God, she’s so much older than me though.”

Stacie just laughed and grabbed Emily’s wrist, leading her to where the Bellas were setting up their two tents for the night.

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

They could tell that the Bellas were struggling with the first tent before they even came into view. Beca and Chloe were bickering like an old married couple, Jessica and Ashley were flipping through the instructions, Amy stood to the side giving out orders, and Cynthia-Rose was attempting to put everything together with Flo. They hadn’t expected to see anything less.

***

An hour later, Aubrey pulled up in a golf cart to watch the chaos unfold. She parked it beside one of the trees a few feet away from where the tents were meant to be and propped her feet up on the front of the cart. The first tent was still a pile of fabric and poles on the ground. Everyone except Emily stood over it, contemplating how to go about putting everything together.

Aubrey frowned at the sight of the newest Bella standing off to the side looking so unsure of herself. She figured it had something to do with the riff-off incident that had happened about a month prior. Chloe was sure to call her up and vent to her about how _legacy sang an original song and made us look like fools in front of DSM and the Green Bay Packers._ She was just impressed that the newbie would have the guts to even consider singing an original song in the first place, but she’d never tell Chloe that.

She decided that maybe it would be a good idea to go give Emily a pep talk. It was definitely because Emily seemed like the type of person who would appreciate advice from someone with more experience and not because she wanted to get to know her better. Crushing on her clientele was against her moral code, even if they were part of the same college group and disarmingly cute.

“Hey, Em, can I talk to you for a minute?”

The brunette looked up from the book of instructions she was holding and nodded.

“What’s up?” Emily asked, a huge smile on her face.

“I noticed you weren’t really helping with the tent, and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

Emily’s face fell and her eyes shifted toward the ground. She looked like a child being scolded for taking a cookie from the cookie jar.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just don’t want to mess anything up again.”

Aubrey put her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder in an effort to be reassuring. She got a little nervous when she felt her tense up instead. Being less intimidating was something Aubrey was still trying, and failing, to be better at.

“I know you know how to put up a tent, or at least know how to follow the instructions. Just think about how much longer they’ll be struggling through the first tent if you don’t try.”

“I mean, I guess, but will they even listen? After the riff off catastrophe they haven’t been too keen on really considering my ideas. It sucks because I have so many, but I can’t help but thinking that maybe I wasn’t cut out for this.”

There was a long pause while Aubrey took in everything the newest Bella had said. It was everything she had felt when she first joined in her junior year at Barden. She stress vomited at her first riff off when Alice turned to her to continue the chain of songs, having to claw her way back to getting a solo. None of these girls had been like the old Bellas when they joined, but they sure were starting to act like them.

“Trust me, just speak up and they’ll be happy to hear your input,” Aubrey assured her.

They were not happy to hear her input. In fact, Emily ended up sitting in the golf cart with Aubrey for the remainder of the day. She was upset at first, talking with Aubrey about their college experiences and their time as Bellas. However, once the upset feeling dissipated, Emily could only think about one thing. She was sitting next to a pretty girl.

“So, you come here often?” Emily restarted the conversation.

“I run the whole retreat.”

“I take that as a yes.”

Aubrey looked at her with a half smirk and Emily couldn’t stop the string of words that followed.

“Wow, I wish someone would look at me like that. You’re doing it right now, but I mean romantically. Not that you couldn’t look at me like that romantically.”

Horror washed over Emily’s face, but the smirk on Aubrey’s face turned into a full-blown smile.

“I’m not hitting on you, or I don’t mean to be hitting on you,” Emily attempted to correct herself. “Although, I would really like to hit on you properly, even if you’re several years older than me. You seem really nice and you have really pretty eyes.”

Aubrey placed her hand on Emily’s knee to calm her down, but also in hopes that the girl would let her speak.

“Would you like to go to dinner sometime?” she proposed.

She thought Emily was going to have an aneurysm.

“That would be great! Maybe I can see more of that smirk and maybe I’ll actually be prepared for how much prettier you are in person by then.”


	2. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Aubrey go on their first date, but of course it can't happen if Emily doesn't have some sort of problem beforehand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so much longer than I meant for it to be, usually my stuff is around 1000 words because that's all I have the patience for but this one is almost double. Also I'm one whole fool and forgot to mention this sprang forward because of the song Shut Up by Greyson Chance so if you wanna listen to that it really sets the mood. Enjoy!

Emily was pretty sure that this first date would have been much easier to prepare for if she’d ever been on a first date. She was relying on three weeks of thorough planning and research to make this night a good one for both her and Aubrey. The only problem she was having now was figuring out what to wear.

They were going to a simple diner that Aubrey swore had the best chili cheese dogs and milkshakes in all of Georgia. It wasn’t anything super fancy, but she still wanted to make sure that she looked good. Stacie had tried to get her into a mini skirt and revealing top that she would never feel comfortable wearing outside of her own bedroom. She politely declined and decided to stick to her own closet of clothes.

A part of her almost wanted to ask Chloe for her help since she would know what Aubrey liked, but she wasn’t ready to tell any of the Bellas yet. It was just a first date. Aubrey might decide she didn’t like her as much as she’d originally thought. She didn’t want to jump the gun on anything just yet.

She continued rifling through her closet until she settled on a pair of black ripped jeans and a white and black raglan shirt topped off with a red and black flannel. It took a few more minutes to figure out what kind of shoes to wear, but she couldn’t say no to her classic black Converse. Now she just had to get Stacie’s approval and she would be on her way to pick up her date.

“Looking good, Legacy,” Beca complimented as they passed in the hall. “Where are you headed?”

“Oh, I just have a date tonight,” Emily replied without thinking.

“A date? With who?”

“Uh… just some guy named Austin.”

Beca gave her a suspicious glance but decided to drop the subject. Emily would tell the rest of them about it when she was ready.

“Okay, be careful, and text any of the Bellas if you need us to bail you out.”

Emily nodded and continued to Stacie’s room. She knocked on the door and waited patiently for an invitation into the room, learning the hard way never to just barge in unannounced. Why Stacie hadn’t thought to lock the door, or at least put a sock on the handle, was beyond her.

“Cute, but you need some accessories,” Stacie said. “I have a necklace and a couple of bracelets you can borrow.”

She pulled a simple gold sunflower necklace and a pair of gold bangle bracelets from a small container sitting on her dresser. They weren’t anything Emily had expected Stacie to own, she tended to go for flashy jewelry, but she was glad she had them.

“Honestly, you can have that necklace. I don’t think I’ve ever worn it.”

Emily finished fastening the necklace around her neck and smiled. It was perfect.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it suits you better anyway. Now go get your girl.”

Stacie gave her a pat on the back and sent her on her way. She looked at her phone to check the time and nearly had a panic attack. Aubrey definitely wouldn’t like her if she were late to pick her up. She grabbed her keys off the counter and booked it to her car parked out back.

Part of her plan was to go get flowers to give to Aubrey when she knocked on her door, just like in the movies, but she didn’t have time. She prayed that everything else would go as planned so they could have the perfect date.

Emily really wished Aubrey’s apartment complex wasn’t so confusing. She was trying to find 4346, but the way the buildings were numbered wasn’t reflective of how the apartments themselves were numbered. By the time she figured out what building number she was in, she was already ten minutes late and ready to cry.

Exactly twenty minutes after she was supposed to be at Aubrey’s door, Emily finally found the apartment. She made herself look presentable, took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and knocked on the door. There was a long pause before the door opened to reveal Aubrey in a green blouse and some jeans.

She didn’t seam upset like Emily thought she might be. Instead, she looked happy to see her. It made Emily feel calmer about being late, but the way Aubrey looked was making her nervous for a different reason. A soft smile made its way onto Aubrey’s face, and Emily’s stomach twisted into knots. She still wasn’t prepared for how pretty she was in person.

“Hey, you’re looking cute tonight,” Aubrey complimented.

It took a moment for Emily to figure out what it was she wanted to say. There was just too much of Aubrey to compliment.

“Thanks, I like your you.”

Not exactly what she wanted, but it got the point across and made Aubrey laugh. It didn’t make her want to scream any less. They started walking toward Emily’s car in silence, both women unsure of what to say, one in particular wanting to say a lot.

“I’m sorry I was so late. I couldn’t figure out what I should wear, then Beca questioned me about where I was going, and Stacie made me put some jewelry on. I really wanted to bring you flowers. When I got here, I got really lost and-”

Emily could feel herself rambling. She wanted to apologize but didn’t want to be the only one talking, that was a huge red flag on a first date.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aubrey assured her. “I walked up to so many wrong apartments when I first moved in, I thought the right one didn’t even exist.”

“They really should have thought the numbering through a little more.”

“I know, I think they just rolled a bunch of dice and threw some numbers together.”

When they got to the car, Emily moved to the passenger side to open the door for Aubrey. Once Aubrey was in, she walked back around to the driver’s side and got in the car.

“So, where exactly is this diner at?” Emily asked.

“When we get out of the complex, take a right and go straight. It’ll be on your left after the third stoplight.”

“Okay, cool.”

Emily pulled out of the parking space and toward the front of the complex.

“Which way was it again?”

“Take a right and go straight.”

She followed the instructions down the road until she saw a large neon sign for Olympic Diner. It was a cute place, pastel paint and chrome on the outside and checkered floors on the inside. Eighty’s rock played quietly in the background. Emily wasn’t sure how she’d missed it on the way to pick Aubrey up.

Aubrey dragged her to a small two-person booth in the back corner of the diner, claiming it had the best view of the road. Their waitress, Kate, was an older woman in a light blue dress and white apron that she pulled her pad of paper out of to take their drink order.

“I see you brought a friend this time, Ms. Posen,” Kate acknowledged.

“Well, I wanted to go somewhere special for our first date, and I figured this would be the place to go.”

“Good for you! Maybe I’ll be seeing you around more frequently.”

She looked at Emily and Emily smiled. She seemed genuinely excited for the two of them.

“Now, what can I get you two to drink?”

Aubrey ordered her usual cherry coke and Emily panic ordered black coffee.

“I take it you’re a regular here.”

“I usually try to make it here every Friday for a milkshake or some coffee. The atmosphere is just relaxing to me for some reason.”

Emily nodded and took note of that as she looked through the menu. She was debating between getting a chili cheese dog like Aubrey suggested or waffles with bananas and chocolate sauce. She figured the waffles would be more up her alley.

“How are things going with the Bellas? Are they taking your suggestions now?” Aubrey asked. She knew what the answer was going to be, she’d chewed them out about it while Emily was in the bathroom during the retreat.

“Everything’s going pretty well. Beca and I did a collaboration for her internship which was pretty cool! Amy even told me one of my choreography suggestions was a good idea.”

“Good, I’m glad everything is going well.”

Kate brought them their drink orders, taking their food orders before leaving again to give the slip of paper to the cook.

“How’s The Lodge going? Have you gotten any groups that were as poorly connected as we were?”

“The group that’s come closest was a frat, but they were disconnected for a completely different reason. It was much easier to fix.”

They continued talking until their food came, jumping from work to school to hobbies and all sorts of favorites. Movies, colors, ice cream, all the important things. Aubrey looked like she was really enjoying herself, making Emily feel much calmer. She couldn’t wait to spend more time with Aubrey.

Emily ordered a strawberry milkshake with two straws once they were done with dinner and Aubrey was terrified that she was going to try and drink it as fast as possible. Chloe told her about when Beca did that on a date, and Emily had recently become her protégé. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when Emily handed her the second straw.

“Is something wrong?” Emily asked, worried she should have gotten a different flavor.

“Oh, no, no, it’s fine! I was just thinking about something Chloe told me about the other day.”

They finished off the shake together before having a minor debate on who was going to pay. Aubrey had wanted to pay since Emily had driven all that way to see her to begin with, but Emily insisted on paying for them.

“Okay, but the next one is on me,” Aubrey insisted.

Emily smiled, holding the door for her as they left the diner. Another date with Aubrey meant another chance to get her flowers and actually show up on time. She drove the short distance back to Aubrey’s apartment, this time finding it with Aubrey’s help.

There was a feeling in the air that Emily couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it made her feel warm on the inside. She parked the car and walked Aubrey up to her apartment, sad that the night was over.

“Thanks for tonight, I had a really good time,” Aubrey said.

Before Emily could say anything, Aubrey leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Emily couldn’t believe what was happening. She stood there speechless as Aubrey told her to have a good night and closed the door.

Emily pulled her phone out as soon as the door closed and sent Stacie a text immediately.

_Stacie holy fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have suggestions on what the next date should be lmk


	3. Finals Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily has a bad habit of overworking herself when finals roll around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long but these last few weeks of school have been kicking my ass. I spent a whole week doing nothing but writing a paper and took two of my finals today. Cranked this out in just a few hours so I hope it's okay.

The end of freshman year was approaching much faster than Emily ever could have imagined. Bellas rehearsals had been put on hold for two weeks so everyone could prepare for their finals. Emily couldn’t believe that everyone would be going their separate ways in a month once Worlds was over. If they were able to win, the fate of the Bellas would be in her hands. At least she’d be able to see Aubrey more often.

She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the date they went on just a few days ago. They’d been texting each other nonstop up until Emily had to start studying for her exams. It was hard to keep track of time when she was so focused on her notes. Beca, Chloe, and Stacie made a habit of stopping by occasionally to make sure she was still alive since she was so unresponsive.

“How long have you been staring at your psych notes?” Stacie asked her one afternoon, but she didn’t hear the question.

She stepped into the room and shook Emily’s shoulder. The unexpected contact made her jump and fall out of her chair, sending papers flying everywhere.

“Damn, Legacy, I’ve never seen you so focused on something other than texts from Aubrey. When was the last time you took a break?”

Emily got up from the floor and started collecting the fallen papers, looking more exhausted than Amy after a cardio session.

“I’m not sure, what day is it?”

“It’s Wednesday.”

“Yeah, but like, in numbers.”

Stacie rolled her eyes and took the papers from Emily to set them on the girl’s cluttered desk.

“Aubrey told me to check on you, she said you sent her something about social cognition at 3 AM.”

“I meant to type it into Google, but she had texted me earlier so that was the first thing I opened that let me type.”

“You should get some rest.”

Emily looked panicked at the thought.

“I can’t I still have three chapters left to go through for this class,” she protested and went right back to work.

There was no way she was going to be convinced by any of the current Bellas, Stacie knew that, so she decided to make a phone call. Aubrey was going to be her best bet. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to the blonde.

_Your girlfriend needs you._

The response she got made her roll her eyes yet again.

_We’re not dating but I’ll be there in 30_

Aubrey stuck to her word and was knocking on the front door of the Bella house exactly thirty minutes later. She was greeted by a very confused looking Beca.

“What are you doing here, Posen? And what is all that?”

The blonde was carrying bags of takeout and a grocery bag full of various items to make tea. It hadn’t occurred to her that none of the Bellas other than Stacie didn’t know that she and Emily had gone on a date.

“I’m here for Stacie.”

It wasn’t a total lie. Stacie had been the one who told her to come over. However, the past they shared made Beca give her a knowing smirk.

“Man, you must be really stressed if you’re here for her this early in the day.”

“Shut it, Mitchell, just let me in.”

Beca stepped aside and Aubrey nearly booked it up the stairs to avoid being seen going into Emily’s room. She could hear Beca very loudly telling everyone in the house to put some earplugs in. Lucky for her Aubrey had more important business to attend to.

Emily was hunched over her desk, highlighter in hand, reading through a large stack of papers. She carefully dragged the highlighter over the pages every so often when she found something she thought was extra important. Her focus was entirely on the notes in front of her.

“Em, I think you should take a break,” Aubrey tried. She got no response. “You’re overworking yourself, you need some rest.” Still nothing.

She set one of the paper bags down on the only part of the desk that wasn’t covered in notebooks or paper, finally earning a small glance up from the paper.

“I already said I can’t-”

Emily stopped midsentence when she saw that it wasn’t Stacie who had interrupted her focus.

“Can’t what?” Aubrey questioned.

“Can’t take a break.”

The frown that formed at her words made Emily’s heart drop.

“You can’t take a break long enough to eat the cheeseburger I brought you? I mean I’m sure Beca would be happy to have it instead.”

“No, no, I can take a little break. I’d do anything to you.”

It took her a few minutes in her over exhausted daze to realize what she’d said.

“Wait, I mean for you. I’d do anything for you. But I guess I’d do anything to you if you wanted me to because that’s also doing anything for you, right? I can’t really make words right now so I can’t tell if it makes sense.”

Aubrey smiled at the rambling she’d become so accustomed to.

“I know what you mean. Now, eat your cheeseburger and maybe try to shower and get some sleep. You’ll be able to study better if you feel better.”

Emily nodded and grabbed the paper bag from her desk. She wasn’t sure how Aubrey knew she only liked her cheeseburgers plain, but she had a feeling Stacie had something to do with it. Stacie was probably why she was here in the first place.

Aubrey sat on the floor, leaning up against Emily’s desk, and pulled her own burger from the bag she was holding. They ate together in content silence until Emily finished and moved to get her stuff to shower with.

“You can sit on my bed or in my chair if you want, I won’t be too long. I guess I should have told you that before you sat on the floor. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I don’t want to get crumbs in your bed anyway. Go get clean.”

Emily made her way into the bathroom and Aubrey waited until the door was closed to stand up and collect the trash on the desk. She threw it in the pink wire wastebasket, deciding to sit in the office chair until Emily came back out. A loud crashing noise made her nervous that Emily had fallen asleep in the shower until she heard a muffled _oh shit_ from behind the door. She laughed at the words, never having heard anything worse than ‘oh fiddlesticks’ come from the brunette’s mouth.

About thirty minutes later, Emily emerged from the bathroom in fresh oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, hair wrapped in the towel on her head. Aubrey thought she looked just as breathtaking in that as she had in the flannel on their first date. She had to look down at her feet before Emily caught her staring.

“Good, I was scared you would still be on the floor when I came out here. I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable,” Emily said. She was beginning to pull the sheets back so she could get in her bed but turned and walked over to Aubrey instead. “Thank you for helping me take a break. I wish you didn’t have to see me like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just doing for you what no one did for me while I was in school.”

Emily pouted at the statement.

“Can I try something?” she asked before she lost the courage.

Aubrey nodded and Emily closed the space between them, kissing the blonde softly. It made her feel a warm calm that she had never felt before. She could feel Aubrey’s smile when she pulled away, resting their foreheads together. Everything about the kiss had felt so right.

“We should do that more often.”


	4. The Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long! I got a job pretty much right after finishing school and it's pretty physical so I haven't had the energy to write. This definitely isn't the best and I'm not exactly proud of it but here it is

“Oh, _fuck_ , Aubrey,” Emily panted, lying on her back on the floor.

She didn’t understand how Aubrey wasn’t exhausted yet. They’d been at it for well over an hour now, and Aubrey didn’t look like she was going to be stopping anytime soon.

“Come on, Em, one more round?”

Emily shook her head, not quite sure she would even be able to stand.

“Well, suit yourself.”

She picked the weights up off the floor and started another set of her full body workout. The two-mile run had only been a warmup, followed by more push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, and weightlifting than Emily had ever done in her nineteen years of living. No wonder Aubrey was so fit.

Watching Aubrey workout was much more fun than working out with her. Even being relatively fit herself didn’t prepare her for the intense routine Aubrey had built over the years. The only reason she even agreed to it was because it had been two months since they’d seen each other at Worlds, and Emily just wanted to spend time with her. Video calls and text messages could only do so much for her.

“See something you like?” Aubrey asked. She started to put the exercise equipment back where she’d gotten it from, giving Emily a knowing smirk.

Emily hadn’t even realized she was staring. It wasn’t her fault that Aubrey’s muscles were so hypnotizing.

“I see a lot of somethings I like.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

Aubrey straddled her waist and Emily’s breath caught in her throat.

“Your shirt is nice. The blue really compliments your eyes.”

“Anything else?”

“The lack of sleeves to show off your muscles is a nice touch.”

Silence filled the air between them before Aubrey bent down and gave Emily a kiss.

“You’re really cute when you’re flustered, you know that?”

“I do now.”

Emily sat up and kissed Aubrey back. She didn’t understand how she had been able to go two whole months without doing that. Kissing Aubrey had been her favorite thing to do since their first kiss during finals week. It was always so warm and welcoming, and Emily got butterflies every time.

Thinking about it more, everything felt warm and welcoming about Aubrey. The way they hugged when Aubrey picked her up from the airport, the smile Aubrey gave her while she talked about her time back home in Ohio, the way Aubrey looked at her while they were stopped at a red light, it all made Emily melt inside. Emily couldn’t believe all those things Beca had told her about Aubrey in her senior year as a Bella.

Aubrey rolled off of Emily and stood, offering her hand to the woman on the floor.

“Come on, let’s go make some smoothies.”

Emily’s eyes lit up and she had the biggest smile on her face.

“I get to have one of Aubrey Posen’s famous post-workout smoothies? Chloe told me you don’t make them for anyone else.”

“Well, I think I can make an exception.”

Aubrey pulled Emily from the floor and helped her steady herself as she stood. Her legs felt like lead, and her body was telling her she should just lay down again. Nothing was going to stop her from trying one of Aubrey’s smoothies. They were rumored to be the best smoothies any of the other Bellas had ever had, but Aubrey refused to make them for anyone. The only reason they’d ever been able to have one was when Stacie had been able to sneak some to them after one of her nights with Aubrey. No one questioned what she did to get it.

The pair made their way into the kitchen where Aubrey pulled out all her ingredients and got the blender ready. Emily was confused to see Aubrey just dumping the ingredients in there without measuring them out. She was known for measuring things so precisely while cooking. Watching her just throw fruit and greens in a blender with a random amount of milk felt wrong. The only thing she did measure was the protein powder.

Aubrey turned the blender on and leaned with her back against the kitchen counter. She looked flawless with her pink cheeks and messy ponytail. It wasn’t fair that someone could look so composed after such an intense workout. That was something you only saw in magazines or on TV.

After running the blender for a minute, Aubrey turned it off and began pouring the smoothie into two separate cups. Emily was so excited that she was bouncing on the balls of her feet. Aubrey handed her the glass and she took a sip of the fruity mixture. It had definitely lived up to her expectations.

“Wow, these really are the best! Not that I doubted that it would be or anything,” Emily said.

“The secret is getting the proper ratio of fruits to greens. Too much fruit makes it too sweet, and two many greens makes it taste funny,” Aubrey explained. “I can’t remember how many times Chloe and the girls begged me for the recipe, only to find out that there isn’t one.”

“I know. Aubrey Posen not following a strict set of rules? It’s unheard of.”

“Watch it or you’ll be the one cooking tonight.”

Emily tilted her head like a confused puppy.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to cook after what happened at the Bella house.”

“Oh, right.”

Aubrey set her empty smoothie cup in the sink and started heading for the living room, pausing in the doorway.

“Well, I have special plans for tonight’s dinner anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

Emily smiled as Aubrey left to go shower. The blonde had been raving about this dinner all morning but hadn’t gone into too much detail about it. Whatever it was, Emily couldn’t remember seeing Aubrey look so excited about something.

She finished off her smoothie and rinsed it in the sink, picking up the sponge to clean both straws and glasses. Once the last glass was put on the drying rack, Emily moved to the living room to wait for Aubrey to finish showering. She could hear Aubrey singing to herself in the shower if she listened close enough.

A few minutes later she heard the water turn off and the door opened shortly after. Emily got up from the couch to go grab her shower supplies, turning just in time to see Aubrey passing through in nothing but a towel. Her jaw dropped involuntarily and the glint in Aubrey’s eyes made her feel like maybe this wasn’t a mistake.

“Shower’s all yours,” Aubrey said.

“Actually, I think it’s yours, this is your apartment after all. Though since this is an apartment it’s not yours either.” Emily closed her mouth and took a deep breath. “I’m going to shower now.”

***

Aubrey made it very clear that evening that Emily wasn’t allowed into the kitchen or dining room area while she was getting dinner ready. She confined Emily to the guest room with The Little Mermaid playing on the TV and left without another word. It made Emily wonder what was so special about the dinner that Aubrey wanted it to be a surprise.

The movie was pretty much over by the time Aubrey poked her head into the room to let her know dinner was ready. Emily swore she could see a bright red lipstick carefully applied to Aubrey’s lips. She turned the TV off and walked through the small hallway to the dining room, where Aubrey stood in a gorgeous red dress.

Two candles were situated in the center of the table, surrounded by the dinner Aubrey had worked so hard to prepare. Music played softly in the background and Emily could feel her heart swell with happiness. Aubrey looked unsure of herself, like she was scared Emily wasn’t going to like it.

“Wow, Aubrey, this looks great. You look great,” Emily complemented.

“Thanks! I hope it’s not too much, I just wanted to do something nice for you before you have to go back to school.”

“No, no, no it’s not too much. I love it.”

Aubrey moved around the table to pull Emily’s chair out before sitting in her own and dishing out the food for both of them. She’d taken the time to make Emily’s favorite pasta dish, a side salad, and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Everything looked and smelled amazing.

They made small talk throughout the meal, but mostly ate in a comfortable silence. As they came to the end of the meal, though, Emily could feel a shift in the atmosphere. Aubrey played nervously with the green part of one of the strawberries. She looked like she was thinking something over, and Emily got nervous about what it might be. Before she could register what she was doing, Emily rose from her chair and held her hand out for Aubrey to take.

“Can I have this dance?” she asked.

A soft smile crept onto Aubrey’s face as she took Emily’s hand. Emily pulled her from the chair but stood awkwardly in hopes that maybe Aubrey would take the lead.

“I don’t know why I did that,” she started. “I’ve never actually slow danced with anyone before.”

Aubrey laughed, pulling Emily closer to her, and moving Emily’s hands so that they rested on her waist. She rested her head against Emily’s shoulder while they swayed back and forth to the soft music in the background. When the next song came on, Aubrey pulled back to look Emily in the eyes.

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and I think I’d really like to date you,” Aubrey finally spit out. “Officially.”

Emily could feel the warmth that came with being with Aubrey spread through her body. She’d been wanting to ask Aubrey about becoming official for the past few weeks but hadn’t gotten the nerve to do it herself. She nodded, leaning in for a kiss to keep herself from spewing all the words on her mind.

“I’ll gladly be your girlfriend,” Emily said with a smile.

Girlfriend? She could get used to calling Aubrey that.


End file.
